William N. Lane II

William N. Lane II
Born
William Noble Lane

(1917-07-21)July 21, 1917
Wisconsin
DiedSeptember 18, 1978(1978-09-18) (aged 61)
Bell Ranch, New Mexico
Occupation(s)Binding company, bank, and ranch owner
Known forMore than doubled the size of Bell Ranch when he owned it[1]

William N. Lane II (c. 1917–1978) was an American president and chairman of Lane Industries, which owned General Binding Corporation, a farm in Virginia, and Bell Ranch.[2] Lane was the chief executive officer and chairman of the Board of General Binding Corporation, a firm that makes business equipment.[2][3] Bell Ranch is a large cattle ranch in eastern New Mexico.[3][4] He was the director of four banks, Northwest National Bank of Chicago, Lakeview Trust and Savings Bank, Pioneer Bank and Trust Company, and Northbrook Trust and Savings Bank[2] that he purchased between 1970 and 1976.[5]

Lane was a member of the Class of 1939 at Princeton University.[6] During World War II, he was a pilot and flight instructor for the United States Navy.[2]

William Noble Lane, the son of Elizabeth Schwaab Lane and William Noble Lane Sr., was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on July 21, 1917.[1] Lane married Ann (née Phelps) Young[7][8] in June 1949 in Lake Forest, Illinois.[1] Ann was the stepmother of William N. Lane III. The couple had five children, Carolyn, Barbara, Jeffrey, Nelson, and Andrew.[2][8] Lane lived in Lake Forest, Illinois[2] and at his 292,000-acre cattle ranch Bell Ranch. He died at his ranch after running off the road and crashing his car on September 18, 1978.[2][3] Lane's wife lived at the ranch at the time of his death.[1] Ann died in Charlottesville, Virginia on October 23, 1991.[8] Lane and his wife Ann were buried at Bell Ranch in Tucumcari, New Mexico.[9]

Following his father's death, William N. Lane III became the vice chairman at General Binding Corporation.[10] Brothers Andrew and Jeffrey and Jeffrey's wife Janet lived and worked at the Bell Ranch at the time of their father's and father-in-law's death.[1]

  1. ^ a b c d e "Obituary for William Noble Lane". Albuquerque Journal. 1978-09-21. p. 68. Retrieved 2023-05-18.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g "Chicago businessman dies in N.M. accident". Chicago Tribune. 1978-09-20. p. 61. Retrieved 2023-05-18.
  3. ^ a b c "Tucumcari area rancher dies". The Santa Fe New Mexican. 1978-09-19. p. 11. Retrieved 2023-05-18.
  4. ^ Remley, David A. (2000). Bell Ranch : cattle ranching in the southwest, 1824-1947. Las Cruces, N.M. : Yucca Tree Press. pp. 303–304. ISBN 978-1-881325-42-0.
  5. ^ "Pioneer grows with strength of community". News Journal. 1976-09-30. p. 75. Retrieved 2023-05-18.
  6. ^ "Class of 1939 - William Noble Lane". Princeton University Yearbook. 1938. p. 270.
  7. ^ "Ann Phelps Young and William N. Lane". Chicago Tribune. 1953-09-01. p. 25. Retrieved 2023-05-18.
  8. ^ a b c "Obituary for Ann Lane". Chicago Tribune. 1991-10-25. p. 90. Retrieved 2023-05-18.
  9. ^ "Obituary for William N. Lane". Chicago Tribune. 1978-09-22. p. 28. Retrieved 2023-05-18.
  10. ^ "Elections at GBC". Chicago Tribune. 1978-09-28. p. 61. Retrieved 2023-05-18.